If you ask the average music listener and told them you were about to see a concert featuring Toadies, Local H and Sparta, they might look cluelessly at you. It may help if you tell “it’s the one band that sings the ‘so help me Jesus’ song, and the other band does that ‘copacetic” song. And the third band used to be part of At the Drive-In.” Of course, depending on their age, those references may still go over their heads.
Do being at this show at the Belasco last Saturday, I knew I was in a room of true cult rock band fans. The people who knew these bands from more than their sole radio hits in the 90’s. All three acts of sterling cred and reputations for their live shows, yet I had not seen any of them live before.
Of the three bands, openers Sparta were probably the one I knew best. Since leaving At the Drive-In, Jim Ward has been writing the kind of searing, emotional alt rock that has the best elements of punk, early emo, and shoegaze. Supporting their excellent new album Cut a Silhouette, the group opened with the catalog classics like the epic “While Oceana Sleeps,” a song that had guitarist Keeley Davis gracing the room with textured, math rock harmonics, adding a lovely counterpoint to Ward’s impactful vocals. From that sweeping song, the band dove into the darker, tighter garage rock cut “Taking Back Control.” Drummer Tony Hajjar had me air drumming along with his fearsome playing. Throughout the set, Hajjar laid down such addictive rhythms, there was always some part of my body stomping or banging along.
The trio (the band was sans bassist for the show) went even further back to 2002, pulling out “Red Alibi” and “Light Burns Clear” from their debut album. It’s amazing this band has been around for over twenty four years, but seeing them live, the reason is clear – they’re effin’ great. Ward’s lyrics are poetry, and he delivers every line with such a passionate delivery, that they always cut to the core. One of my favorite tracks by the group, “Breaking the Broken,” came next. While Ward couldn’t get his voice quite up to the high notes on the chorus to match the recording, the song’s power and lyrics (the line “Well, I can’t explain how we made it this far. And you should know, only you control my heart” gives me the feels) still held up. The band closed on two of their newer songs, “Crater” and “Glimmer,” with Ward expressing his love and thanks to the fans for continuing to come out and support bands like Toadies and his own. Sending out wishes to love your fellow man, the group waved goodbye. So along with being a great band, Ward also seemed to be a really nice, down to earth guy (which he would prove later, but I’ll get to that).
Everyone I know who has seen Local H has told me how great they are live. Over the years, I had become more than a casual fan, loving older singles like “All the Kids Are Right” and “Eddie Vedder” on top of later tracks like “California Songs” and “Mansplainer.” They’re a group that can go really hard, but also know how to drop a sticky, melodic hook in between their sardonic, biting lyrics. Having never seen them before, I was excited to hear all of their big tracks live. After ripping through “Manifest Destiny, pt. 1,” the band then went right into their biggest hit, “Bound for the Floor.” It wasn’t a big surprise to me that the duo would throw in their hit single early in the set, but frontman Scott Lucas then joked they were the laziest band on the bill, so they didn’t have any new album to support. Instead, they were celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of their break-out album As Good As Dead, playing eleven of that album’s thirteen songs (only somewhat in order).
For their long-time hardcore fans, this was likely a treat, as it meant deep cuts they probably didn’t get to hear often. For me, it was a bit of a bummer as I was only really familiar with the three singles from that album (the aforementioned “Bound for the Floor,” the catchy, melodic “Eddie Vedder,” and the funny, ripping “High-Fiving MF.” Still, I could easily appreciate how hard the duo went. I often notice that two-piece bands will go out of their way to be louder than a four piece band, if just to show that they can. Lucas attacked his guitar, while drummer Ryan Harding jack hammered his kit on the grungiest songs on the album. They were joined by the Toadies‘ bassist for one track (I think “Nothing Special”) but otherwise the band got the crowd moving and moshing without help. While it may not have been a dream setlist for me, I would of course see them again (hopefully for a non-album show).
If you follow our site, you may have read the rave review our writer David Rangel gave to Toadies‘ new album The Charmer. When the album finally came out, I listened to it. And listened again. And again. Something about the album hit so well. Their style of alternative rock mixed with a sort of swampy blues and caterwauling, underground punk was a sound I didn’t know I needed. And this led me back to their platinum first album Rubberneck.
“Hey, there are more good songs on here than just ‘Possum Kingdom’!”
Songs like “I Come From the Water,” which the entire audience sang the chorus too, like a voodoo chant. I came prepared with familiarity with the band’s debut, as well as their new album (of which they played many tracks from). But the stuff in between was still new to me. Songs like the bouncy grunge number “No Deliverance” from the album of the same name. or 2010’s “ATF Theme.” But luckily for me, the band kept it mainly a mix of very old, and very new.
I liked that frontman Vaden Todd Lewis took time throughout the set to talk about the new album, which they saved up for in order to record with Steve Albini (one of his final works), and which they owned completely themselves (they put the album out on the first non-profit record label, Spaceflight Records). The band followed this with new tracks like the thumping “I Walk a Line” and “Long Time.” A couple times through the set, Lewis had some equipment issues. While he and the crew addressed these, the band would veer into instrumental covers to keep the audience entertained. It brought some nice levity to the set, and kept the downtime from being boring.
As one would expect, “Possum Kingdom” received an uproarious reaction from the audience, with people dancing, jumping and singing to every word. The song was inescapable if you listened to radio in the last thirty years in L.A. I’ll admit I didn’t like it much back in the day, but over time it grew on me as my taste evolved. What was nice is that the next song, “Damage,” my favorite from the new album, received just as strong of a reaction from the audience. It’s clearly a highlight and one which will remain a live staple for the band moving forward.
Lewis got personal after this, discussing how much of the album came from his experiences only five years earlier when he was dealing with thoughts of self-harm, for which he eventually got help for. He then gave a moving speech to the audience addressing fighting depression, encouraging them to get help if they need it, find support, and he called bullshit on the idea that these feelings helped creativity. This was a perfect segue into “Normal,” with its lyrics “I just want to be normal!” The band then closed out their initial set with their second biggest track, “Tyler.”
The encore started with the band bringing Local H‘s Scott Lucas out to play guitar on an alternative cover of “I Put a Spell On You.” Lucas headed out, and the band churned out two other new tracks, “I Wanted To Be Everywhere” and “Get Out of Your Head.” It was nice to see a band who seemed really excited about their new music, playing it with enthusiasm instead of with that feeling of shame that comes from self-promotion and playing songs the audience likely won’t know. Their passion for the new music made hearing the new songs all the more special. But for their final track of the night, the band went with a Rubberneck deep cut, “I Burn,” and brought out members of Sparta, Local H and Helmut to add some extra tribal drums.
Leaving the show, my friend and I gushed about how great the performances were. Just as I was about to head out the door, Jim Ward passed by. I stopped to share my love for their performance, which he took in stride, and he quickly complimented me back for my Troubadour t-shirt, expressing his love for that famed Los Angeles venue. As I said earlier – he was a really nice guy.
While this excellent bill only has a few more shows, Toadies will be continuing their tour so be sure to catch them on upcoming dates. And I highly recommend giving their new album a spin!
The Indy Review 